Member Sign In

You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating indiv idual securities.

If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.

TOTAL Expands in Central Asia

Oil and gas major TOTAL S.A. (TOT - Free Report) entered into an agreement with Kulob Petroleum to acquire an interest in Bokhtar PSC in Tajikistan. Bokhtar PSC covers an area of 13,513.6 square miles (35,000 sq kilometers) and is situated on the eastern end of the Amu Darya Basin.

Per the agreement signed with Kulob Petroleum, a subsidiary of Tethys Petroleum, TOTAL will have a 33.33% stake in the area. Similarly, CNODC, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp. (“CNPC”) and Kulob will hold a 33.33% interest each. Tethys Petroleum has already acquired seismic data of the region with first exploration expected to come up by the end of 2014.

TOTAL has been operating in Central Asia since 1990. Significant gas discoveries in the region have kindled TOTAL’s interest in the basin. TOTAL will also acquire another interest in the Tajikistani sector of the Amu Darya Basin and operate it jointly with CNPC. We believe TOTAL’s increasing presence in this high gas content region will help it to capitalize on the growing global use of natural gas.

The clean burning nature of natural gas and government regulation on usage of coal for production of power have to a great extent increased the importance of the former. Natural gas is now touted to be the “new coal”. TOTAL has been producing gas and oil from its fields spread across the globe. This new acquisition will largely enhance its gas producing capabilities.

We believe the financial strength of TOTAL allows it to make strategic acquisitions and commercially develop its oil and gas fields. During the third quarter earnings release, the company confirmed the commercial viability of the Absheron gas discovery in Azerbaijan and new gas and condensate discovery in the King Lear prospect in the Norwegian North Sea.

TOTAL will gradually develop these prospects in the forthcoming years. Besides, the company also acquired exploration licenses in some other fields. We believe these upstream initiatives will definitely help to boost the total gas production of the company, which stood at 5,680 thousand cubic feet per day (Mcf/d) during the third quarter 2012.

TOTAL S.A. currently retains a short-term Zacks #3 Rank (Hold rating). Another global oil and gas operator, the British major BP Plc. (BP - Free Report) also retains a short-term Zacks #3 Rank.

France-based TOTAL is one of the largest publicly traded, globally integrated oil and gas companies based on production volumes, proved reserves and market capitalization. The company has exploration and production operations across five continents.

Resources

Client Support

Follow Us

Zacks Moblie App

Zacks Research is Reported On:

Yahoo

MSN

Marketwatch

Nasdaq

Forbes

Investors.com

Morningstar

Copyright 2018 Zacks Investment Research

At the center of everything we do is a strong commitment to independent research and sharing its profitable discoveries with investors. This dedication to giving investors a trading advantage led to the creation of our proven Zacks Rank stock-rating system. Since 1988 it has more than doubled the S&P 500 with an average gain of +25% per year. These returns cover a period from 1988-2017. Zacks Rank stock-rating system returns are computed monthly based on the beginning of the month and end of the month Zacks Rank stock prices plus any dividends received during that particular month. A simple, equally-weighted average return of all Zacks Rank stocks is calculated to determine the monthly return. The monthly returns are then compounded to arrive at the annual return. Only Zacks Rank stocks included in Zacks hypothetical portfolios at the beginning of each month are included in the return calculations. Zack Ranks stocks can, and often do, change throughout the month. Certain Zacks Rank stocks for which no month-end price was available, pricing information was not collected, or for certain other reasons have been excluded from these return calculations.

Visit performance for information about the performance numbers displayed above.